The Oxford History of World Cinema

slides they projected, the spoken word capable of
imposing a very different meaning on the image from the
one that the producer may have intended. Many exhibitors
even added sound effects -- horses' hooves, revolver shots,
and so forth-and spoken dialogue delivered by actors
standing behind the screen.

By the end of its first decade of existence, the cinema
had established itself as an interesting novelty, one distraction among many in the increasingly frenetic pace of twentieth-century life. Yet the fledgeling medium was still
very much dependent upon pre-existing media for its
formal conventions and story-telling devices, upon somewhat outmoded individually-driven production methods,
and upon pre-existing exhibition venues such as vaudeville and fairs. In its next decade, however, the cinema
took major steps toward becoming the mass medium of
the twentieth century, complete with its own formal conventions, industry structure, and exhibition venues.

Low, Rachael, and
Manvell, Roger ( 1948), The History of the British
Film, 1896-1906.

Musser, Charles ( 1990), The Emergence of Cinema.

--- ( 1991), Before the Nickelodeon.

Transitional Cinema

ROBERTA PEARSON

Between 1907 and 1913 the organization of the film industry in the United States and Europe began to emulate
contemporary industrial capitalist enterprises. Specialization increased as production, distribution, and
exhibition became separate and distinct areas, although
some producers, particularly in the United States, did
attempt to establish oligopolistic control over the entire
industry. The greater length of films, coupled with the
unrelenting demand from exhibitors for a regular
infusion of new product, required this standardization of
production practices, as well as an increased division of
labour and the codification of cinematic conventions. The
establishment of permanent exhibition sites aided the
rationalization of distribution and exhibition procedures
as well as maximizing profits, which put the industry on
a more stable footing. In most countries, early cinemas
held fairly small audiences, and profits depended upon
a rapid turnover, necessitating short programmes and
frequent changes of fare. This situation encouraged producers to make short, standardized films to meet the constant demand. This demand was enhanced through the
construction of a star system patterned after the theatrical
model which guaranteed the steady loyalty of the newly
emerging mass audience.

The films of this period, often referred to as the 'cinema
of narrative integration', no longer relied upon viewers'
extra-textual knowledge but rather employed cinematic
conventions to create internally coherent narratives. The
average film reached a standard length of a 1000-foot reel
and ran for about fifteen minutes, although the so-called
'feature film', running an hour or more, also made its first
appearance during these years. In general, the emergence
of the 'cinema of narrative integration' coincided with
the cinema's move toward the cultural mainstream and
its establishment as the first truly mass medium. Film
companies responded to pressures from state and civic
organizations with internal censorship schemes and
other strategies that gained both films and film industry
a degree of social respectability.

INDUSTRY

Before the First World War, European film industries
dominated the international market, with France, Italy,
and Denmark the strongest exporters. From 60 to 70 per
cent of all the films imported into the United States and Europe were French. Pathé, the strongest of the French
studios, had been forced into aggressive expansion by the
relatively small domestic demand. It established offices in
major cities around the world, supplemented them with
travelling salesmen who sold films and equipment, and,
as a result, dominated the market in countries that could
support only one film company.

US producers faced strong competition from European
product within their own country for, despite the proliferation of relatively successful motion picture manufacturers during the transitional years, a high percentage

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